Illinois Democratic convention notebook: Emanuel speaks, good seats

Congressman Jan Schakowsky speaks at the Illinois delegation breakfast in Charlotte N.C., ahead of the start of the Democratic National Convention. (Nancy Stone, Chicago Tribune)

Mayor Rahm Emanuel leads three speakers from Illinois who will address the Democratic National Convention tonight.

The mayor's speech will start in the 8 o'clock hour tonight Central time. He's got two speakers ahead of him, so figure about 8:10 p.m. at the earliest if the show is running on time.

Congressional candidate Tammy Duckworth is scheduled to speak in the 7 o'clock hour. Gov. Pat Quinn has a spot in the 5 o'clock hour, perhaps 5:30 p.m. judging where he falls in the lineup.

The broadcast networks don't start their coverage until 9 p.m. Central, so folks who want to see the Illinois Democrats will have to try the cable news stations.

As Illinois delegates entered the Time Warner Cable Arena for the first day of the Democratic National Convention today, they discovered that they once again have the best seats in the house.

Like any other hard-to-get ticket, it helps to know someone.

Just like four years ago at the Pepsi Center in Denver, the Illinois delegation is front and center in the convention arena, thanks once again to Barack Obama. Four years ago, Obama was the Democratic presidential nominee. Now, by tradition, he will find his home state to be the closest delegation to the main stage. Delaware, home to Vice President Joe Biden, also has up front seats.

The placement of state delegations is itself a science as political parties try to place critical states as close to the front as possible. North Carolina, the convention’s home state, also finds itself up front --- a far cry from Denver where it was far in the back. It also helps that North Carolina, won by Obama four years ago, also is a significant swing state this time.

Unlike the Republican National Convention in Tampa, where the stage was placed in the center, the Democrats have placed their stage against one of the narrow ends of the arena. That means most convention delegations will find themselves sitting in the stands, rather than having true arena floor seats.* Democrats hold one-party control of Illinois government, and one of the benefits came last year in the once-every-decade redrawing of congressional and state legislative boundaries required to conform to population changes as a result of the federal Census.

Controlling the map lines meant Democrats could slant the districts in their direction for the fall election, and the congressional map seeks to overturn the 11-8 majority Republicans gained in two years ago.

U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky called the new Democratic-drawn congressional boundaries “a great map that’s going to help us take back the House of Representatives.”

The Evanston Democrat added that "the path to a majority for Democrats in the House of Representatives runs exactly through Illinois,” where Democrats hope to pick up five of the 25 seats needed to oust the current Republican majority.

State Senate President John Cullerton of Chicago said the new legislative map means six to seven incumbents face “really tough races,” but that Democrats have a “great opportunity” to pick up seats from Republicans.

Currently holding a 35-24 majority over the GOP in the Illinois Senate, Cullerton made a prediction to delegates.

“I’m telling you ladies and gentlemen, on election night, not only will we have the re-election of our favorite son, Barack Obama, but the Illinois Senate is going back into the super majority.” Cullerton needs a one-seat pickup to get to the veto-proof 36-vote super majority.* Cullerton said that when he first entered the state Senate in 1991, there were some lawmakers who thought that Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, the state’s most powerful Democrat, had “some undue influence over the General Assembly.”

“But thank god, those days are over,” Cullerton said sarcastically. “Now, I can tell you the Illinois Senate Democrats love the speaker — and his Rules Committee.” The House Rules Committee, tightly controlled by Madigan, is where unpopular Senate-passed bills go to die.